Shinn Family Barn

The Shinn Family Barn is significant because of its relationship to a unique settlement pattern, to an extant agricultural system, and to a particular architectural style. Once within the limits of the Cheyenne-Arapahoe Indian Reservation, the region in which the barn is located-Blaine County, Oklahoma--was settled by a dramatic land run in April, 1892. Twenty-five thousand persons claimed property according to the provisions of the Homestead Act of 1862, resulting, where the land was good, in a settlement pattern of four 160 acre farm sites on each section of land and a population density of 20 per square mile. Elmus L. Shinn, the builder of the barn, did not participate in the run, but upon his arrival in Oklahoma Territory in 1896 he purchased the homestead rights to the site for $800. The patent to the 160 acre tract was awarded to him in 1903. By that time Shinn had constructed a large barn anterior to the family dwelling. That original structure burned about 1910, but upon its foundation was erected the barn that is the subject of this nomination. As much as anything else, the barn signaled the passage of the pioneer stage of agricultural development and the success of the 160 acre family farm as a viable economic unit. The advent of gas powered machinery and the economies of scale, of course, have since made the 160 acre tract inefficient, fostered a rural population exodus, and caused the abandonment of farm structures. The traditional family farm is a thing of the past. The Shinn Family Barn thus symbolizes a unique settlement pattern that had its genesis in a land run and flowered in an era when 160 acre family farms were the rule rather than the exception.

The Barn is also significant for what it conveys concerning the nature of early 20th Century agriculture in western Oklahoma. Its several horse stalls reflect the dependence upon animal rather than mechanical transportation; its milking stanchions, suggest the self-sufficiency of the family farm; its huge hay loft indicates a period when forage was store in loose piles; and its relative small grain bins make clear that wheat was merely a and not the cash crop. The first story earth, rather than concrete or wooden floor suggests the utilitarian nature of the barn and the necessity of economy in construction. At the same time, the size of the barn and its substantial building materials make clear that the structure was the economic focus of farm life and not a temporary shelter for machinery or agriculture products. At the same time, the Shinn Family Barn also reflects changing agriculture patterns. In recent times it too has been used primarily to store hay, and thus reflects the transition from a multi-crop to essentially a single crop economy.

The barn is also significant architecturally. The extension of the roof on one side to the ground floor is a style of construction common to the mid-west but not to Blaine County. Significantly, it is a style identical to that found most often in northern Missouri, the birth place of Elmus Shinn. It is an outstanding testimony, therefore, of the fact that pioneers did not leave their cultural or architectural baggage back east as they moved to cheaper land. The barn is also significant because of its age and durability. Where other for structures have decayed and been demolished, it still stands in relatively good condition. From a survey of the county and the knowledge of area residents, it is best remaining example of a structure that symbolizes a settlement pattern and an agriculture era--the 160 acre family farm--that is now no more than a fading memory.